


my alstroemeria dreams of you and me

by blasphemyincarnate



Series: solangelo auctober [2]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Meetings, Flower Shop!Nico, Flower and Tattoo shop, Getting Together, M/M, Prompt Fill, Service Industry, Solangelo AUctober 2019, Tattooist!Will, wow that's a tag?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-25 17:31:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20915885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blasphemyincarnate/pseuds/blasphemyincarnate
Summary: Will Solace thinks the prettiest flower in the shop across the street is the dark-eyed artist boy.





	my alstroemeria dreams of you and me

No one looking at Will Solace would think he was a tattoo artist. But his father only had so much money to put his eleven children through college, and Will was always a go-getter kind of guy. He loved art, and he loved hearing people’s stories. Tattooing came naturally to him.

Will whistled as he walked into the airy building. A crumpled wad of old tattoo designs suddenly smacked into the side of his head, cutting him short.

“Your whistling is horrible, Will,” Lou Ellen told him plainly, feet propped up onto the register. 

He grinned and threw the paper back. “It’s not that bad. You try having to wrangle seven siblings in the morning.”

Lou Ellen snatched the paper out of the air without looking up from her tablet. “Yeah, okay, you do that Will.”

Will rolled his eyes and took off his jacket, hanging it on the coat hook behind the desk. “I’ve got Jason coming in to finish his eagle, right? Any other appointments?” 

“No, but-“ Lou Ellen paused to make a note in her planner. “-I just made you an appointment to head across to that new flower shop across the street and pick up a flower arrangement. This place could use some life.” 

“Sorry, what?”

Lou Ellen put down her tablet and opened a binder of popular tattoos. “My cousin, Alabaster, offered us a free arrangement. Apparently his boss thinks they have to be friends with all the other shops on the block.”

“Is there a specific time to go or can I just go now?” Will wasn’t expecting Jason in for another half hour, and if it was right across the street, he might as well. 

Lou Ellen glanced at the time. “Go now. Take this lunch, will you, I think Alabaster took mine.”

~~~

The boy who walked into Nico’s stepmother’s flower shop was quite possibly the sun personified, but better because the sun made Nico squinty and angry, while this boy was just gorgeous.

Nico only peeked up from his sketchbook for a couple of moments, but those moments were enough to stun him completely. He began absentmindedly wondering if there was a way to sneak a photo, because Piper would definitely appreciate this. 

“Hi,” the boy said, and his voice was angelic too. “Uh, I work at the tattoo shop across the street, I heard there was an arrangement for us?”

Nico stared and blurted out, “You work at the tattoo shop?”

Tattoo boy laughed. “Yeah, I know I don’t really look the part. Wait, is that some ink?”

Nico started, suddenly remembering the tips of the white raven poking out from under his sleeve. “Oh- um, yeah, it is, yes.”

_ Nice work, di Angelo _ . 

He hesitantly pulled his sleeve up slightly, showing off the head of the bird. “Um, you were saying something about an arrangement?”

The boy nodded and then visibly focused in on the conversation. “Yeah! Yeah. I also have something for Alabaster Torrington?”

“Alabaster!” Nico called into the backroom, ignoring the pang of jealousy.  _ Why are you jealous of Alabaster getting the attention of someone whose name you don’t even know?  _ “You’ve got a visitor!”

The brunette poked his head out of the door. “Is this about Lou Ellen? Listen, that’s her lunch, it’s not my fault she doesn’t like what she gets.”

The boy peeked into the bag. “Well, she’s allergic to nuts, and there’s a bag of trail mix in here, so.”

Alabaster frowned and disappeared, coming back out a moment later. “Nevermind, our lunches really did get mixed up that time.” He passed the bag to Nico and winked.

Nico scowled at Alabaster, feeling his face flush bright pink. “Here,” he mumbled, handing the bag to- god, he didn’t even know the boy’s name. The boy, who smiled and exchanged bags with Nico, his fingers brushing up against his wrist. 

“And, uh, the arrangement?”

Nico’s eyes widened and he hastily turned to the computer. “Uhh, what’s your shop’s name?”

The boy’s eyes twinkled and he leaned onto the counter. “Hecate Tattoo.” 

Nico nervously searched through their files, conscious of the boy’s eyes on him. He almost managed to misspell tattoo, of all words. “Right, uh, you’ve got a Neutrals? Alabaster, order for Hecate Tattoo, ID number 468!”

The boy glanced between Nico and the lunch bag for a moment, fiddling with a bracelet he had on. “I’m Will,” he said, suddenly.

“Nico.” He thought about that name, Will. Rolled it around his tongue. It fit the boy.

“So, Nico, you got any more ink?” Will’s eyes looked him over curiously.

“Not really, I’ve been thinking about getting a new tattoo though. Would you recommend Hecate’s?” God, was he  _ flirting _ ? Nico had almost winked at Will.

The boy chuckled and pulled a business card out of his pocket. Nico briefly had the thought that the black aviator jacket looked really good on him. “Here,” Will said. “I would absolutely recommend my workplace, one of my three sources of income. Please give me money.”

Nico let out a short laugh of surprise. “College student, huh?”

“Is it obvious?”

“You’ve got the look.”

Alabaster came out of the backroom carrying a giant arrangement of white oriental lilies, pink daisies, and light pink alstroemeria flowers. “We’re also college students, please give  _ us  _ money.”

~~~

Piper’s words echo in Nico’s head as he pushes open the door to Hecate Tattoo the next day. “Nico di Angelo,” she said, very slowly. “I hereby order you to get your next tattoo at Hecate Tattoo.”

(“Hecate Tattoo?” Jason had asked, looking up. “Hold on, that’s where I’m getting my eagle done. Nico, come with me tomorrow. I’m going to call to push back my appointment.”)

The girl at the receptionist's desk looked up. From the tips of her green long-on-top pixie to the toes of her black, propped-up combat boots, she reeked of Nico’s aesthetic. “Jason, right? You’ve got Will in, uh, eight minutes?”

Nico pretended she hadn’t immediately drawn his attention by saying  _ Will _ . “Yeah, I gotta finish my eagle. My cousin’s in for consulting, is that fine?” 

The girl glanced at Nico and looked him up and down. “Yeah, that’s fine. For the record, Will’s the only one in today, so you might have to wait a while.”

Before Nico could respond, Jason cut in. “Yeah! That’s fine, I can wait, Nico will probably be faster anyway.” Jason nudged Nico towards the receptionist's desk, slipping him a bill.

Nico scowled at Jason and trudged up to the desk slowly. “So, uh, a consultation is how much?”

The girl shrugged and stood up. “Dunno, ask Will. He normally decides prices for his work, and you’ll be working with him, so.” She stepped around the desk and stuck a hand out. “Lou Ellen Blackstone, nice to meet you.”

Nico took her hand and shook it. His skin seemed even paler next to her dark hands. “Nice to meet you, Lou.”

She made a face and gestured for him to come with her. “Lou Ellen, please. Lou sounds so… white mom.”

Nico followed her. “Ellen is the whitest white mom name to ever white mom.”

“No, that’s Karen,” a different voice cut in. Nico’s eyes snapped up to meet Will’s blue ones. So blue. So gorgeous. Nico had no chance of leaving this building without a crush.

“Nico to see you again,” Will said cheerfully, pulling a chair out in front of the large table in the middle of the room. “Get it, Nice? Nico?”

Lou Ellen patted Will’s back in a sympathetic manner. “Yeah, Will, he gets it. It just wasn’t funny. See you, make sure to use protection!” 

Will choked on the water he’d been taking a sip of. “Blackstone!” He yelped at her retreating back, spluttering. “I am going to tell your mother!”

Lou Ellen’s response was a finger in the air.

“You guys good friends, then?” Nico asked after a moment, leaning back in his chair. 

Will smiled blindingly. “Yeah, we’ve known each other since middle school. Technically, Lou Ellen was Kayla’s friend first, but we’re pretty close now.”

“Who’s Kayla?”

The bright smile faltered for a moment, then picked up again. “My sister. So, what did you have in mind?”

Nico leaned forward out of habit and almost lost his breath at how close they suddenly were to each other. “Actually, I was wondering if you had any ideas in mind.”

Will smiled at him - not that he’d ever stopped. But this one was different, this one was new. For a moment, in the world, it was just the two of them. 

**Author's Note:**

> solangelo auctober 2019 - wednesday, october second - service industry
> 
> I feel bad about this taking me forever so I'm just posting the part I have written now  
turns out I'm really bad at actual romance, who woulda thought  
*whispers* we been knew, lucy
> 
> also!! I'm skipping thursday, because I'm not a fan of vampire AU and I'm skipping friday because I don't have time - do expect a texting AU sometime soon, though! I'm hella behind on all the prompts but hopefully I can catch up by tmrw
> 
> (side note: kayla's kinda dead, it's probably never gonna be mentioned but I have a headcanon about this story like. Lou Ellen and Kayla were friends first, Kayla and Will are half-siblings from their hoe-dad Apollo, same age. they love each other hella though. so anyways Lou Ellen and Kayla met in like seventh grade and were rlly good friends, and Kayla dyed her hair in sophomore year. and then the next year, she died in a car accident, along with Will's older brother Lee. two days after she died, Lou Ellen dyed her hair green in memory of Kayla and it's been green since. anyways this is mostly a fluffy fic so this was probably never gonna come up but like I thought yall should know)


End file.
